The Elder Press Cafe

This west London spot is where to go to romanticise your life. The Elder Press Cafe is right by the Thames Path, in a part of Stamford Brook where the streets are lined with elegant, white townhouses straight out of a Richard Curtis film. The queue is the de facto meeting spot for locals—there are air kisses, chats about holidays in Corfu, and lots of people in expensive activewear getting takeaway coffees before directing their prams and Barbour-fied dogs towards the river. Things are calmer out back in the long, narrow dining room—all washed-out sage greens and chalky pinks—where leisurely breakfasts, propped up on linen cushions and illuminated by soft pink lights, are had. When the weather’s good, the charming courtyard fills up quickly with cyclists and runners refuelling with tangy bowls of yoghurt garnished with pink flowers and shards of sweet, nutty granola, and Scandi-style plates of rye and smoked salmon. But the real appeal is to spend a morning wafting about with a book, gazing longingly out of the large windows like a modern-day Brontë.

photo credit: Koray Firat

photo credit: Koray Firat

photo credit: Koray Firat

photo credit: Koray Firat